diff --git a/internal/http/summoner.go b/internal/http/summoner.go
index e633900e1..2a50d80f0 100644
--- a/internal/http/summoner.go
+++ b/internal/http/summoner.go
@@ -190,8 +190,19 @@ func (s *AgentSummoner) finishSummon(ctx context.Context, agentID, tenantID uuid
 	if frontmatter != "" {
 		updates["frontmatter"] = frontmatter
 	}
+	// Only derive display_name from IDENTITY.md if the user did not already set one.
+	// If the user DID set a name, patch IDENTITY.md so the agent knows its real name.
 	if name := extractIdentityName(identityContent); name != "" {
-		updates["display_name"] = name
+		current, err := s.agents.GetByID(ctx, agentID)
+		if err != nil || current.DisplayName == "" {
+			updates["display_name"] = name
+		} else if current.DisplayName != name {
+			// User set a custom name — rewrite IDENTITY.md to use it.
+			patched := replaceIdentityName(identityContent, current.DisplayName)
+			if err := s.agents.SetAgentContextFile(ctx, agentID, bootstrap.IdentityFile, patched); err != nil {
+				slog.Warn("summoning: failed to patch IDENTITY.md name", "agent", agentID, "error", err)
+			}
+		}
 	}
 	if len(updates) > 0 {
 		if err := s.agents.Update(ctx, agentID, updates); err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/http/summoner_utils.go b/internal/http/summoner_utils.go
index e686d9839..e64470f67 100644
--- a/internal/http/summoner_utils.go
+++ b/internal/http/summoner_utils.go
@@ -82,6 +82,24 @@ func trimMarkdownWrapper(value string) string {
 	return value
 }
 
+// replaceIdentityName rewrites the Name field in IDENTITY.md content to newName.
+// Handles both "- **Name:** ..." and "Name: ..." formats.
+func replaceIdentityName(content, newName string) string {
+	lines := strings.Split(content, "\n")
+	for i, line := range lines {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(line)
+		if strings.HasPrefix(trimmed, "- **Name:**") {
+			lines[i] = strings.Replace(line, trimmed, "- **Name:** "+newName, 1)
+			return strings.Join(lines, "\n")
+		}
+		if strings.HasPrefix(trimmed, "Name:") {
+			lines[i] = strings.Replace(line, trimmed, "Name: "+newName, 1)
+			return strings.Join(lines, "\n")
+		}
+	}
+	return content
+}
+
 // suffixString returns the last n runes of s.
 func suffixString(s string, n int) string {
 	runes := []rune(s)